The Little Merman
by Vaelliance
Summary: Inspired by the movie The Little Mermaid. Merman Feliciano is curious about everything dry and on the surface above water. Including humans whom his grandfather and older brother had always told him were evil. Then he sees and saves the human Ludwig who later pursued him insistently. What were this human's intentions? Will Feliciano be able to trust him and LOVE him? Rating M later
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Although inspired from The Little Mermaid, only a few events from the movie itself has been applied to this story and said events have been altered to best suit the characters and the story. This story differs in a lot of factors from the movie, actually._

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Chapter 1

The endless night sky was covered by a vast reddish fog thus making it impossible for Feliciano to see the glittering stars which he always looked forward to to see during the evening. He pouted with disappointment but his attendant, Alfeo, on the other hand, sighed with relief. "Your highness, let us return to the palace for tonight. I doubt these storm clouds would clear up anytime soon; we might as well not get caught in it."

"Yes." Feliciano consented dejectedly and was going to dive back into the waters when he caught sight of light and perked up. "Hey, what's that?"

Alfeo turned to look at the direction Feliciano was looking at and gasped in slight horror. "Oh no, that's trouble. We must go back immediately."

"Trouble?" Feliciano repeated, his eyes shining with excitement despite what it was. He actually didn't believe that it was 'trouble' since anything Alfeo labeled as that involved humans and he just couldn't understand why humans were anything but 'trouble'. To him, they were amazing, fascinating and interesting. If anything, he wanted to learn more about them.

"Yes, trouble. Now, we must leave."

Instead of doing exactly what Alfeo said, Feliciano dove and swam towards the light. He heard Alfeo shriek behind him but he didn't turn back and continued on. Ahead of him, the light took form into a huge galleon and he gasped at the size of it. It was intimidating, overwhelming, and he almost wanted to go back and swim away. But he stayed afloat, frozen, just a few meters from it, eyes and mouth wide.

A tug on his arm broke him out of his stupor and he looked down at Alfeo who also gaped at the galleon, except, he was gaping from fear and anxiety, rather than the awe and excitement Feliciano felt. "Your highness, please, let us head back." Alfeo pleaded, eyes darting back and forth from Feliciano to the galleon. "What if the humans aboard sees us? Oh, we'll be killed!"

Feliciano looked up at the galleon and giggled. "What a silly thing to say, Alfeo! They won't see us when we're all the way down here! And we probably won't see the humans either. You're thinking too much, Alfeo. Since we're already this close anyway, let's take a closer look at this big floating thing." He swam closer to the galleon, ignoring the sounds of protests from his attendant. He extended an arm towards it and felt its surface. "Oh! What sort of material is this? How strange!"

"Your highness, please, get away from that thing! You might get killed!"

Still ignoring Alfeo, Feliciano swam to the edge of the galleon and gasped when it headed his way. He swam to the other side of it and brushed his fingertips along its surface again. He looked up again to see if there's any difference between both sides and gasped at the sight he saw. A blond head, a handsome face with eyes and a nose and a mouth, broad shoulders and… "A human." Feliciano breathed out.

He stared for seconds, minutes, hours, he didn't know. It was the first time he'd seen a human with his own eyes and he couldn't see the difference between the two of them. His grandfather Rome said that humans have legs, feet, instead of fins and tails; but he couldn't see them. Where was the difference?

Reflexively, Feliciano ducked into the water when the human looked down. But soon after, he resurfaced and swam after the galleon to look up at the human again. He stared some more until he felt something cold hit his face and he looked up at the red sky. It had started to rain. When he returned to look at the human, he wasn't there anymore. And he could hear Alfeo shouting, pleading at him. When had he stopped hearing Alfeo?

"Your highness, the storm has come. We must leave! Immediately!"

Despite hearing Alfeo, his words went to one ear through the other. The raindrops got stronger, heavier but Feliciano had not noticed. He could only feel the strange swelling in his chest and he couldn't stop a huge smile pulling at his lips. "Oh, Alfeo, you wouldn't believe this!"

"I certainly won't. Now, we must leave." Alfeo inserted and pulled unto Feliciano. The royalty let himself be dragged away.

"I saw a human, Alfeo, a human! No, he didn't see me." Feliciano quickly added when Alfeo shot him a terrified look. "But Alfeo, he looks just like me! Well, not exactly like me, more like, like us, you know, with eyes and a nose and a mouth. Oh! I didn't see his feet though. Or legs. And- and, what's so scary about humans? I mean, they don't look like monsters or anything; that human I saw looked han-" he sputtered when salt water washed over him. Without his notice, the storm had gotten stronger, the rain heavier, the waves higher and violent, and when he turned back to the galleon, it rocked strongly.

He suddenly stopped, tugging Alfeo into a stop as well, as he watched the galleon. Alfeo tried to pull him harder but he refused to budge. He spotted the blond head of the human he saw earlier and Feliciano watched him as he bumped unto the ledge, and with one hard sway, he lost balance and fell from the galleon, into the sea. Feliciano's breath got caught in his throat. "Hey, Alfeo, what happens to humans when they fall into the water?"

Alfeo helpfully answered matter-of-factly. "They drown and die, of course."

Feliciano pulled his arm away from Alfeo's hold and swam towards the blond human. Alfeo's protests went unheard with the storm blazing its strongest at them, and he didn't actually care about Alfeo's protests anyway. He just wanted to save the human. So he fought through the waves of the sea in search for the human and after having been washed away a few times, he finally spotted that blond head and quickly swam his way.

It was quiet hard to swim during a storm, Feliciano discovered. The waves kept on washing him away and they slightly hurt when they slapped on his face and no matter how much he tried to swim closer to the human, they always seem to drift further apart. He didn't give up though, and he worked his tail hard to get to the blond head until finally, he got hold of the human's arm.

A lot of things immediately ran through Feliciano's mind but he tried hard to recall information about humans among everything else and he remembered that humans needed to be kept out of the water. And that they should be brought to land. So he wrapped an arm around the human's chest to keep his upper body out of the water and he looked around for land. He couldn't see anything past the waves.

Remembering the general direction of the nearest land and guessing which way was north, Feliciano steered himself and the human through the violent waters and it was such a struggle for him to swim with a human. He almost gave up in the middle of it all but he feared that the human with him remained unconscious forever and maybe because this human was the first he'd seen his whole life, Feliciano felt the great need to save him. So he endured the water that kept slapping him, the water that steered him away from his general direction, the water that tried to pull away the human from him at times until finally, he felt the storm grow calm, the waves coming shallower and from miles away he spotted dry land.

With tired and numbing limbs, Feliciano dragged the human to shore and laid him down on the sand. He, himself, plopped down unto it to catch his breath. He got put to work harder than he'd ever been and he was exhausted. He vowed to never fight his way through a storm again.

He rolled unto his side, facing the human he'd just saved. It shocked him now just how close to a human he was and he stared gaping at him without knowing what to do. The human was just inches away from him and if he reached out, he'd be able to touch him. With that thought in mind, his hand slowly moved towards the human's face and hovered over it for a few seconds. After much hesitation, he poked an index finger on the human's cheek and quickly pulled back. He didn't expect for human skin to be so soft. After his new discovery sunk in, he gently pressed his index finger against the human's cheek again and again and again…

After a few minutes of poking, he felt very fulfilled and sat up to take a good look at the human's face. This time, he pressed not just an index finger but his whole hand unto the human's cheek. He caressed the soft skin with his thumb, taking in the details of his nose, the curves of his plump lips, the dip on his cheek, the line of his jaw. He got his face so close to that of the human's that he felt said human's shallow breathing. And a realization hit him.

The human was alive! Unexplainable joy and delight filled Feliciano, knowing that his effort had not gone to waste and he'd saved a human life. Most of all, he felt so relieved. He couldn't contain the sudden burst of pleasant emotions in him that he had to open his mouth and sing out a melody. A cheerful and joyful melody for the first human he met.

He sang at the top of his lungs, his voice soaring high into the open air as he gazed down at the unconscious human, both of his hands now holding either side of his face, his thumbs gently caressing his cheeks. He reached the last stanza of his song and he leaned his face close to the human's, his forehead lightly bumping against the other's as he whispered the last few words of his song.

Just as he breathed out the last note, his eyes were suddenly seeing blue and he pulled back with a startle. For a second, he just stared into the eyes of the human that were so incredibly blue that they reminded him of the sky on a wonderful sunny day. He breathed out a sigh of relief that the human had awakened thus ensur- _The human had awakened?!_

Without a second thought, Feliciano swiftly turned around and dove into the waters and swam away as fast as he could as if a shark had been chasing after him. No matter how close he'd been to that human awhile ago, Feliciano discovered that he was also afraid of humans after all.

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_Imagine Feliciano singing Part of Your World._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful feedback. I didn't think I'd get them. Enjoy!_

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Chapter 2

The moment the stationed guards at the gates of the palace spotted Feliciano, one of them immediately swam inside while the other greeted Feliciano with a mixture of relief and joy. He fretted impatiently on his place as he waited for Feliciano to reach him and as soon as the royalty was within a meter or two, he exclaimed, "Your highness, his majesty has been looking for you!"

Feliciano tilted his head at the side with confusion as he voiced out his question, "Why? Did something happen?" He instantly became worried and gasped, "What happened? Where's grandpa? Is Lovi all right? He didn't get hurt, did he?" Another gasped escaped him and his eyes widened. "Did he finally get some mermaid pregnant?"

The guard drew back from the bombard of questions and he quickly replied when he found a pause in between the royal's questions, "Err… his majesty said to tell you to go see him at the throne room as soon as you arrive."

Feliciano nodded resolutely, said a quick "thanks" then swam in. He headed straight towards the throne room, wondering with worry why his grandfather wanted to see him. And it seemed so important too. He had not done something bad, had he? He couldn't remember doing anything like that, at least. With growing anxiety, he sped up towards his destination and rushed in through its doors.

As soon as he entered the throne room though, he was met by his grandfather's tight embrace, knocking the breath out of him and squeezing it out of him. And before he could make out a sound for breath, he was released and was pushed at an arm's length, his grandfather's hands resting heavily on his shoulders. He looked straight into his grandfather's eyes and saw the genuine worry in them and he felt guilty without even knowing what he had done wrong. He didn't like to make his grandfather worried.

"Feli, my boy! I'm so glad you're all right!" Grandpa Rome pulled him into a hug again, thankfully not as tight as the first one. He relaxed in his grandfather's hold this time and hugged back before they pulled away from one another. There was still the worry in grandpa Rome's eyes but he looked more relieved than anything else. "Alfeo came scrambling home last night all panicky. He said something about a human and the storm and when you didn't come home… oh, Feli- how worried I was!"

"Grandpa sent out almost all the guards to search for you and demanded for the citizens to join in. Everyone in the kingdom was in shambles." Feliciano looked behind grandpa Rome and saw his older brother, Lovino, and Alfeo swimming to them. The both of them looked spent- an understatement towards Alfeo who looked more like _exhausted_- with clear indications that they had not slept last night. Lovino crossed his arms on his chest as he asked, "Where exactly have you been last night?"

Feliciano's expression and gaze fell as the guilt nibbled at him and he stammered out an explanation. "I- I just went s-star gazing last night l-like usual, with Alfeo, b-but there was this storm and I couldn't see any stars."

"What was this about a human?"

Feliciano opened his mouth to reply but he closed them back. Should he tell them that he saved a human? But his grandfather and his older brother hated the humans; how would they react to his act of heroism? Would they treat it as some sort of treason? His eyes started to sting and water at the thought of that but he blinked them away. What if his grandpa Rome forbids him from going to the surface of the water again? And after he worked so hard to convince his grandpa that it wasn't dangerous too! What if he never sees the sky, the sun or the stars again? He stifled a sob. "I… I-"

His grandfather took his face in between his hands and nudged them up for his eyes to meet his grandfather's. Feliciano didn't like the worry that shone in his grandfather's eyes but he didn't want to give up the surface either. And that was why he worked hard on convincing the older man that the surface wasn't as dangerous as he thought and that he'd be safe.

"Listen to me, Feli." Grandpa Rome started and Feliciano knew he wouldn't like his next words. "I can tolerate you going up to the surface but associating with humans is entirely different. They are monsters, barbarians, murderers… they will only hunt and hurt our kind and- and I just don't want any of you, my grandsons, to suffer. We must stay away from them, keep our distance, never be seen or discovered, or it will be the end of us. You understand me, don't you?"

Feliciano nodded his head despite not understanding.

"Now, what happened with you last night after you got separated from Alfeo?"

"I- I just got washed away by the storm and… and it was too strong for me and I got lost." He never meant to tell a lie but his words had come out before he could even think. He didn't know why he couldn't tell the truth, didn't know why he didn't understand his grandfather's words, didn't know why he couldn't forget that blond head and the soft skin and the beautiful features and oh, those blue, blue eyes. And most of all, despite everything that had been said to him, he didn't know why he felt like he wanted to see that human again.

His grandfather ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead before letting him go completely. "You must be tired. You should go get some rest."

He nodded his response and turned away, swimming towards one of the exits of the throne room that led to the royal family's private quarters. From behind him, he heard his grandfather saying, "Alfeo, keep an eye on Feliciano. More so than you've ever did." He closed his eyes tight, tuned out the rest of the conversation and just focused on getting his ever so wanted rest.

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While still feeling upset about his earlier confrontation with his grandfather, Feliciano broke through the surface of the water and looked up. He needed the beautiful sight of the night sky right now, peppered with the glimmer of the stars, mapped with the various constellations, and he wasn't disappointed. He instantly felt just slightly better and was, as always, entranced by the beautiful spread of celestial in front of him. But his trance was broken when Alfeo surfaced beside him.

"Your highness, his majesty said that we must return before the moon rises past the quarter of the sky. It's earlier than the usual time we always returned before, but you understand that we must set his majesty at ease for now, yes?"

Feliciano hummed his agreement, although with a hint of disappointment. But he couldn't blame his grandfather and he shouldn't cause any more worry than he already did. He even went so far as lying when he'd almost never done such a thing before and, maybe for a bit of repentance, he willed himself to obey his grandfather's words this time. He should be very grateful too, and he was. Despite everything, his grandfather still allowed him to see the stars, even just for a bit. That should already be enough for him.

He turned away from the sky and dove back into the waters and started swimming. Alfeo went after him and swam beside him, his attendant's eyes looking at him with confusion and worry. "Your highness, where are we heading?" Alfeo asked.

"The shore, just like we always do, Alfeo. We will find a rock to sit on and admire the stars together from there and after that, we'll head straight back home and rest." Feliciano remembered something and apologetically looked at Alfeo. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Alfeo. I shouldn't have left you last night. And thank you for still coming with me even though you must be really tired. Lovino was really cranky too, because he couldn't get his beauty sleep."

Alfeo cracked a comforting smile before looking up ahead of them. "It is nothing, your highness. It's my duty to stay by your side always."

They continued on in silence after that, reached the shallow waters, found a suitable rock they could sit on that was far enough from the shore and propped themselves on top of the rock. But when Alfeo had settled on on the rock with Feliciano right beside him, he gasped and dove back into the waters, pulling Feliciano along with him who yelped in surprise as he hit the water, and hid them behind the rock. He took a peek at the shore briefly then turned to a confused Feliciano, fear masking his face entirely. "We must get away at once."

"What?" Feliciano also took a peek at the shore, a gasp also escaping out of his mouth from an entirely different reason as Alfeo, he knew.

Only meters away from them, at the shore that was neither near nor far from them, cackled a light that danced atop piled woods. Feliciano had not seen something like it before and he was taken by the sight of it, but that was not the sight that had him gaping with bubbling joy from within him. It was the familiar figure that sat near it, with legs rather than a tail. Then Feliciano could somehow feel it at the tips of his fingers; the softness of those skin, the warmth underneath it and oh- the blue eyes. How he wanted to see them again.

Feliciano's brown eyes were suddenly torn away from the figure at the shore and met the blazing gaze of his attendant. Alfeo's eyebrows were tightly drawn together and his hold on either side of Feliciano's head almost hurt from the pressure. "You came to see the human again?"

The royal's eyes were as wide as they could get as he vigorously shook his head. He swallowed hard first before he spoke out, "I didn't know that the human is here, Alfeo, honest! I just wanted us to sit down on a rock and look up at the sky, just like how we always do! I really didn't know that he is here," he sobbed. "Please believe me."

Alfeo eyed him hard, trying to gauge out the lie in his words but having found none, he finally sighed and let go of Feliciano. His eyes were still stern though as he took another peek at the human. "Still, we must leave, now. And I wouldn't just yield to you like last night; I'll drag you back as hard as I can if I have to."

"You don't have to do that, I'm going back with you." Feliciano replied but couldn't resist one last glance at the human. He strongly felt how he wanted to touch the human again and look into his blues once more, but among those feelings, there was also fear. And in that fear, for now he gave in as he followed after Alfeo to return to their home, to their safe haven. But another thing nagged at him as they made their way. "Please don't tell grandpa we saw the human."

Alfeo shot him a look and Feliciano was sure he was going to get a mouthful from him but instead, the attendant turned away and replied, "If I told his majesty that we saw a human then he might never again let you see the surface of the water. But I know how precious the sight of the beyond to you and I- I can't possibly let that happen. So I won't say anything. But-!" He abruptly stopped and turned to face Feliciano that the latter almost bumped into him head on. "You will never see that human again! Promise!"

Feliciano raised his right hand in a show of sincere gesture and nodded. "I promise."

"Good." Alfeo huffed and went back to swimming.

Feliciano followed suit and couldn't help a relieved smile spreading on his lips as he but whispered, "Thank you."

Alfeo didn't reply and Feliciano thought that he had not heard. But his eyes softened and his demeanor relaxed, telling Feliciano otherwise. And while feeling incredibly grateful and relieved that he hummed the rest of the way towards the palace, there was a slight pang of guilt in his chest. Because he knew deep inside that he won't be able to keep his promise.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I'm sorry for the wait. I wanted to finish my Jelsa fic first then finish this one. Although the Jelsa fic isn't finished yet, updates should now be more frequent. No promises though because I'm truthfully lazy. But I'm determined to finish my fics no matter how long it takes._

_Thank you so much for the feedback. They're the reason I updated because I felt so guilty making the readers wait. You probably had to go back to chapter 1 and read again even though you've already followed/favorited/reviewed this. I'm sorry. I'll do my best to update at least once a week._

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Chapter 3

Feliciano poked his head out from a coral that hid him and looked around for the tail that had been following him. When he saw no one was around except him, he swam out of the coral and carefully proceeded towards his destination. He kept an eye on his surroundings, making sure that no one was around to see him until he reached an all too familiar rock. All caution and thoughts vanished, a big grin spreading out on his face as he swam faster towards the rock, stopping close to it and sticking to it. He broke through the water and looked around him, making sure once more that he's alone. Then slowly and cautiously, he moved close towards the edge of the rock and peeked out.

His breath hitched as it always did at the sight of the human. There he was, sitting on the sand, legs bent and crossed together, brows furrowed in concentration as he sharpened a round brownish thing with a silver thing. He sighed in awe as he watched the human.

This was the third time he'd come back to see the human since he was last here with Alfeo. And that was three days ago. He'd come back each day just to watch him until the human went towards the bundle of greens or if he felt like he had to go back to not be suspicious.

He was satisfied with just watching him, when he stood on those legs and walked around with separated limbs, or made a floating light on a pile of sticks, producing a black smoke that reached the skies, or when he takes off that thing that covers his chest- broad and muscled and sun-kissed- and goes into the ocean to catch fish. The last part always seemed to make Feliciano feel hot on the face and his heart pound against his chest.

At first he was alarmed when he saw the human head towards the ocean, scared that the human would drown and die and that would really make him sad, and he had wanted to go and get the human out of the waters when the human went and dove underneath but before Feliciano could, the human had resurfaced safe and with a fish between his hands. Feliciano almost cried when he saw the human get a stick and stabbed it through the mouth to the tail and put it on top of the dancing light. He got scared when he'd seen that and had left, but he found himself coming back the next day.

The more he watched the human, the more he wanted to go and touch him again. He couldn't forget how the human's skin felt on his fingertips, and he especially got such urges when he saw the human bare and wet with the water. He'd never seen someone so beautiful, not even the most decorated mermaids in the kingdom could compare. And he wanted a closer look on those eyes again that reflected the waters and the skies. And when he'd realized he wanted to do those things, he started to feel an ache knowing he couldn't do those. Not when he feared and had no courage. Not when he didn't want to risk.

Oh, but he had been taking risk although nothing as severe as meeting a human awake and perhaps endangering his life. He had broken his promise to Alfeo and had gone to see the human again. As his attendant, Alfeo was assigned to always stay beside Feliciano, keep an eye on him, and assure his safety. And to see this human, Feliciano had to get Alfeo lost through the wide expanse of the ocean floor. When he'd returned, he had apologized and said that _he_ got lost, which wasn't exactly an unusual thing. Feliciano loved to explore the ocean, to find new things, to discover alcoves and flowers and beautiful things. So he always got away in the end.

Feliciano settled both his arms on the rock and leaned his chin on top of his folded arms, looking dazedly at the human on land who had already piled up some pointed brown stuffs and still continued on sharpening some more. His questions concerning the human was running rampant in his head that he had not noticed that the human had looked up at him, blue eyes meeting his honey ones, and for a moment, he stilled, feeling those eyes drawing his, as if he couldn't look away at all.

Then the human shot up on his legs and Feliciano knocked back to his senses. He immediately hid behind the rock, hesitating on swimming away. His thoughts were contradicting one another; he wanted to swim away at the same time he didn't want to. He wanted to meet the human at the same time he didn't want to. He couldn't reach a decision, torn between his fear and his curiosity. Until he didn't have to make the decision.

A hand grasped his arm and his fear was quick to respond. He struggled out of the tight hold that didn't really hurt him and failed miserably. He had always been weak and was only really good at swimming. So he started to plead. "I'm sorry, please don't kill me! Please don't catch me, or hurt me, or kill me, or sell me! Oh, and please don't kill me! They said that it hurts and I don't want to get hurt. My grandpa said that you humans would take out our heart and sell it and that it hurts. Please don't do that to me."

He continued to babble on, begging to be spared of his life until he noticed that the human wasn't saying anything and was only really holding unto his arm. He stopped speaking and just looked up at the human who was only staring at him with a dazed and surprised expression. He waited for a few seconds for the human to speak but he didn't. So he tilted his head sideways and peered up at the blond questioningly. "Um…?"

The human seemed to snap back to attention and looked apologetic. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to speak German."

Feliciano furrowed his brows in confusion. "What's a german?"

A surprised expression crossed the human's face again. "Wha-" he started but cut himself off and just shook his head. "Never mind." His eyes seemed to have caught something underwater and got stuck there. Feliciano followed his gaze and felt his heart jump to his throat as he tensed. "Wha- you're-"

"Please don't kill me! Please don't hurt me, oh please please please don't sell me to humans." He cried, looking up at the human in front of him with his best pleading look that even his grandfather, or anyone really, couldn't resist.

"Oh no, I- that's not- I mean… I won't." The human stammered, noticing that he was holding unto Feliciano's arm and letting go.

Although very relieved, Feliciano was also very surprised. He was so sure that he wouldn't be spared since his grandfather and older brother had said so. "Oh, you… you won't sell me?" The human shook his head. "Won't kill me? Won't hurt me?" The human shook his head at each question. Feliciano beamed and sagged with relief. "Oh, thank God! I was so sure I'd be dead already. My grandfather and older brother always told me that humans are barbarians and murders and mean, but I guess there can also be exceptions like you, don't you think? You really won't hurt me?"

The corners of the human's lips twitched as if he was attempting not to smile. "I really won't."

"Oh, I'm so happy! That means we can be friends then." Feliciano's eyes widened as he realized that he was actually talking to the human he'd been watching for days and he couldn't help but flap with excitement. "Oh my gosh, I've never been friends with humans before! Or ever really saw one or talked to one or anything. Oh, I have so much to ask you! Can I touch you?"

The human blinked at him and was slow to respond. "Yes, you can. But first, I have a question of my own."

"What is it?"

"Were you the one who saved me?"

Feliciano was confused at first until he remembered the night of the storm. He smiled as he answered, "Yes, yes I was. I saw you fall from that floating thing and- oh, what was that floating thing?"

"It's a ship. Made out of wood. From trees."

"Oh! Then Alfeo- he's my attendant- said that humans drown and die in the waters so I went to you and pulled you into this land. It was so very hard to get to land because the waves were high and they always pushed me farther and farther and oh, I'm never swimming through a storm again."

The human only stared at him for a moment until he pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "Thank you. And I'm sorry if I brought you trouble. I would like to repay you but…"

"But?"

"I'm stranded and waiting to be rescued. I don't have anything with me right now to repay you with."

Feliciano smiled. "That's fine. You can just answer my questions instead."

The human hesitated and looked reluctant when he replied, "Very well."

Feliciano squealed and looked down underwater, eager to ask about the feet and legs first. Then he tilted his head to the side. "How are you floating?"

The blue of the human's eyes glinted with amusement even though he didn't smile. "I can swim."

"With those legs and feet?" Feliciano asked incredulously, eyes wide.

"Yes. I can show you if you want."

"Oh, yes please!"

The human moved out of the rock and Feliciano followed suit. He pointed to the shore and said, "I'm swimming back there. Is that alright with you?"

Feliciano nodded, his eyes glimmering with excitement, heart pounding. He watched as the human dove back to the water and started moving his feet alternately. Feliciano also dove into the water and swam after the human, wanting to watch him swim up close.

He marveled at the sight of it. It was beautiful, breathtaking; he never thought someone swimming could be so beautiful. He watched the human's arms make round motions that sliced through the water, the muscles on his shoulders that moved, the way his body tilted at each calculated movement, how those legs moved up and down alternately, making splashes and bubbles in the water.

Feliciano barely noticed them reaching shallower waters and he was disappointed when the human stopped and touched those feet on the ocean floor and walked. He himself let his head pop out of the surface and they moved to the sands of the shore. He stayed in contact with the water that reached up to his elbows at least and the human sat a little further up beside him, breathing hard. It seemed like swimming tired humans rather easily.

"That was amazing! Oh, you looked beautiful!" Feliciano exclaimed enthusiastically. "I didn't think humans knew how to swim since you didn't have fins and tails. And humans can die underwater, after all."

"You mermaids still swim more beautifully, I think." The human said, looking down at him.

Feliciano stared into those blue orbs. It kind of felt like as if the sky was looking down at him which was a ridiculous thought that made him smile. Unconsciously, he reached out a hand to touch the human's face and only noticed his own action when the human jerked back. He quickly withdrew his hand. "I'm sorry." He blurted out.

"Oh no, I…" The human shook his head and relaxed. "I was just surprised. You did say that you wanted to touch me."

At the mention of that, Feliciano remembered and brightened up. "I want to touch your legs and feet!"

The human's lips twitched upwards and he gestured to his legs. "Go ahead."

Feliciano shifted his position so he was comfortably facing the human's legs and took a deep breath. He was suddenly feeling nervous at finally seeing the limbs he didn't have up close and he slowly lifted a hand towards the said limbs.

He pressed a finger on a leg, just a gentle, experimental poke. He was surprised to find that it felt smooth, maybe a bit harder than the human's cheeks and he almost shivered at the contact. He swallowed and ran his hand across the skin.

He watched his fingers trail an invisible path on the skin and leaned in closer to see if he really was seeing hair on the legs. He didn't know hair grew on legs. He felt giddy that he'd discovered something about humans that he'd discovered himself and was determined to know more. More than what he'd been told and more than what he'd believed.

He perked up when his fingers reached the toes of the feet and held them. He squeezed the biggest toe then moved to the next biggest, down to the smallest one. He took a closer inspection of the feet and took note that the base was almost flat, with a gentle curve at the middle and then a round-ish end. He ran a finger along the base and felt the human slightly retracting them and the toes curl. He looked up at the human worriedly, wondering if he'd hurt him.

The human looked rather embarrassed. "It's a bit ticklish."

Feliciano stilled, staring. Whenever he wanted Lovino to laugh, he always tickled the older on his sides because Lovino was actually really ticklish. He noticed that the human barely even smiled so he couldn't help but wonder how he'd look if he laughed. With a little bit more of consideration, he wiggled his fingers on the base of the feet and watched for the human's reaction.

The human quickly withdrew his feet, bending them close to him and glaring at him.

Feliciano couldn't stop from smiling even though the glare was scary because that's how Lovino usually reacted to him too. "I'm sorry, please let me touch your legs again. I won't do it again, promise."

"I won't let you touch me again if you do." The human replied and straightened his legs back.

Feliciano returned to his experimentations, now heading up. He squeezed his hand on the roundness at the middle of the legs where the legs could be bent, then upwards where the legs got thicker. He let his hands continue until he reached the thing that covered the rest of the legs. He blinked once, tilting his head in consideration then decided to continue on beneath the thing. But the human's hands suddenly gripped at his wrist and he looked up, startled.

There was a bit of a pink tint across the human's face as he tried to explain. "Um… sorry, that's… you can't touch those parts… um…" he couldn't look straight into Feliciano's eyes at all.

Feliciano smiled reassuringly and gently pulled back his hand. "It's okay, I won't touch you where you're uncomfortable." He didn't understand why though. He pulled himself up to sit beside the human and smiled. "I have more-" he cut himself off when he took a look at the colors of the water that was reflected from the sun. He looked up at the shining ball of light and gasped. "Oh no, I have to go." He hurriedly crawled back into the water and dove.

"Wait!"

He turned back to look at the human who was now on his feet.

"What's your name?"

Feliciano gasped at his stupid mistake. He'd forgotten to exchange introductions with the human. "I'm Feliciano Vargas, second and youngest prince of _Regno del Mare_."

The human looked stunned. "Prince?"

"What's your name?"

The human was quick to regain composure and he replied, "Ludwig Beilschimdt."

Feliciano grinned and waved as he slowly swam into the water while still facing Ludwig. "I'll see you again, Ludwig! _Ciao_!"

Ludwig just watched him until he turned away and dove into the waters to return home.

* * *

_In this fic, the merfolk has their own language, in this case Italian because it's Italy. However, when they speak to humans and wish to be understood, their words gets translated over the head of their conversation partner thus makes them seem like they're speaking the language of their partner. Thus explains Ludwig's confusion. The _Ciao_ over there is untranslated because everyone understands it anyway, and I wanted it to stay untranslated just to keep Feliciano's characterization. I hope this is understood because I find it hard to explain, ugh._

Regno_ is italian for Kingdom and _Mare_ is italian for sea, according to google translate. The "sea kingdom" is translated as "_Regno del Mare_". I hope google got that right. Oh, I named their kingdom that because I couldn't think anything fast and I got lazy. I'm sorry._


End file.
